From Lithuania to Wilmslow. Meet the Cheshire designer whose couture collection had the style gurus at London Fashion Week singing her praises WORDS BY EMMA MAYOH

Victoria Rangayah knows she is lucky. A spot on the catwalk at London Fashion Week is something many designers spend years working for. But within months of deciding to launch her own label, Z-Mode, she was hurriedly preparing her spring/summer 2011 collection for its debut at the iconic event.

‘I never stopped. I was working from 8pm-3am every day for five months to get it ready,’ said Victoria, who lives in Wilmslow with husband, Eugene and their two children, Angelica, eight and 17-month-old Alexandras.

‘I do realise how hard people work to get an opportunity like this. I was lucky because for me it did just kind of happen. I wasn’t too sure whether I was going to do it at first. It was a lot to think about with two children. But then my friends made me realise it wasn’t a case of if I was going to do it, it was how.

‘It was a lot of work and it was nerve wracking. The one time I felt a bit more relaxed was when I saw people clapping.’

Lithuanian born Victoria, who also lived in South Africa, is no stranger to fashion. While living in Johannesburg, she spent time making bespoke wedding dresses and evening wear and designed jeans and denim clothing for a manufacturing company. But having her own ready-to-wear label is something was always her dream. She had intended to do it much sooner but discovering she was pregnant and the tragic death of her father, Zigmantas, in a car crash, meant her plans were put on hold.

‘It was too difficult for me to try and think about,’ remembered Victoria. ‘I had lost my father and I was pregnant so I thought it best to postpone the launch. I wanted to give this my best shot so I decided to wait.’

The 30-year-old’s passion for art and being creative began during her childhood. She used to draw and paint all the time - she is still an accomplished artist today - and as she got older she found her passion for fashion.

Victoria’s designs, which cost from �350, combine feminine fabrics with designs that use geometric shapes, straight lines and loose silhouettes as well as some unusual materials - one of her dresses is made with shoelaces.

Her clothes have been shown in a handful of other fashion shows, including an Alice in Wonderland themed event held at the Amber Lounge in Knutsford. She is currently in talks with Young British Designers, a company that showcases the best up and coming talent and she has her sights set on getting Z-Mode clothes stocked in independent boutiques. She has also been invited back to show at London Fashion Week again next year and is hoping to get sponsorship.

She said: ‘More than anything in the world I want the label to go further and further. It’s a long shot and it will be a long journey but I’m taking it one step at a time, thinking positively, I will put in a lot of hard work and I will see what happens.

‘I just need to get a foot in the door, I keep telling everybody, and one day a door will open. That’s what I keep thinking.

‘I’m really pleased to have put Z-Mode on the map. Before it was just a dream but now it feels like it could be a reality.’